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Don’ts
Lifting or carrying heavy loads
Drinking alcohol – it can cause serious problems for the baby
Smoking- smoking cigarettes or bidi and chewing tobacco can harm the baby and the mother
Taking medicine or herbs without a doctors prescription
Exposure to chemicals such as hair dyes, pesticides to kill insects, or herbicides to destroy weeds
Ignoring danger signs
Delivery by untrained persons
Don’t walk without sleeper /shoes

“Our nation’s future, its prosperity strength or weakness, depends on the care with which build up the character and habits of our children” Radhakrishnan

Saravana Selvi.C
M.Phil Research Scholar,
Department of Home Science
Extension Education
Avinashilingam University

Nutrition Pregnancy and Lactation

Pregnancy
Eat balanced diet and variety of foods, so that all nutritional needs are fulfilled.
Eat four to five times a day.
Increase intake of cereals, pulses, milk and milk products, fresh fruits and green leafy vegetables.
Consume meat, fish and egg, if culturally accepted and affordable.
Include oil or ghee in the diet as these are rich source of energy.
Consume iodized salt.
Drink plenty of water.
Eat small amounts of food at short intervals, if suffering from nausea and vomiting but should not stop eating.
No food should be avoided during pregnancy but intake of tobacco and alcohol should be prohibited.
Consume ‘Supplementary Food’ provided at AWC daily.
Avoid food fads and disbeliefs regarding food intake.

Lactation
A nursing mother, in addition to normal diet, needs one additional good quality meal every day.
A nursing mother needs more proteins (high quality) for milk production. She should have more of whole grain cereals, pulses/dals, milk, curd, green leafy vegetables and fruits. Also, only iodised salt should be used.
A nursing mother should take plenty of fluids.
A nursing mother should not eat spicy and high calorie food such as ghee, nuts, etc. in excessive amount so as to avoid undesirable gain in weight.
If a nursing mother does not consume required amount of food, her own body stores will be used for production of milk, thus affecting her health.
No food is forbidden during lactation.
A nursing mother should consume the supplementary food provided at the Anganwadi
Centre for six months after delivery to meet the increased nutritional requirements of breastfeeding

Do’s and Don’t for a Pregnant Woman
Do’s
Getting registered with the AWW/ ANM/ at a PHC/nursing home
Regular antenatal check-up as soon as she knows about her pregnancy
Taking two TT injections (4-6) weeks apart and 100 IFA tablets
Sleeping for 8 hours
Resting or sleep for 2 hours during the day
Maintaining personal and genital hygiene
Regular light exercise, for example by walking for half an hour every day
Wearing loose, comfortable clothing and low-heeled shoes that support the feet
Drinking plenty of fluids and eating enough food, especially the right kinds of food (energy giving, body-building and protective)
Trianga diet i. e., more green leafy vegetables and fruits and milk should be incorporated
in diet
• Visiting the health facility immediately, if danger signs develop
• Going for institutional delivery